A Vision of Beauty

Isn't she getting beautiful?  We spent the day shooting again and each time, I feel like I'm getting better at capturing her beauty.  It was a perfect high cloud day, so we didn't have to fight sunspots but did have to contend with the wind. She was happy, happy.....had to send a dozen to facebook right off the bat.

In your opinion, did I give this a slight green cast?  It had a red cast SOOC and I'm wondering if I took it too far on the green side.  I absolutely love taking pics, just hate to edit them.

We've decided that Darby is a bad luck charm....or maybe its me...or the two of us together....we had stopped right on the main drag of our small town and ran back behind a building to take a half dozen shots.  I had switched my G lens out  with my 90 mm so I wouldn't have to back up so far....in the less than 10 mins. that we were behind the building, someone opened my back door and stole the G....I was sick, mad and pissed...all at the same time.  Mainly because it was the one time all day that I forgot to lock the door and also because it was in broad daylight, on the busiest street in town and we weren't 25 yards from the vehicle.  I'll get it replaced because I have all my equipment insured but I hate to go through the whole process...reporting to police, filing the claim and then ordering....I just want to hit the person/persons who did it or better yet, run them over!  I'm so sick of the low life's in this world....

BTW....I think what you are doing on the practice blog looks great....I can't go back in there without another invitation and all I did was look and then backed out....now it says I have to have another invite.  But...I can't see much that I would change.  I just wish we could use the whole screen, instead of just down the middle.


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Betty Crocker muffins

These are the muffins I made this morning.  I've not figured out how to melt and drizzle chocolate chips and make it look good so these are not too pretty but they are heaven to eat.  Learned this recipe from a client on my route and have made them a couple times now.  I have way too much of a sweet tooth!  I'll eat desert first at a buffet so I have plenty of room to enjoy it...LOL.


Anyway, super easy to make and wonderful to eat...

Betty Crocker  Mini Chocolate Chip/Rollo Muffins


I pkg. Betty Crocker Chocolate Chip Cookie mix
24 Rollo candies
Mini marshmallows
Chocolate chips.

Prepare cookies per directions on package. Spoon into mini muffin pans.  Press a Rollo into each muffin. Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 6 to 8 minutes.  Remove and add 3 miniature marshmallows to top of muffins and place back in oven to 'melt' the marshmallows.  Takes around 3 minutes.
Meanwhile melt chocolate chips and then drizzle with a folk on top of the muffins.

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edited to add:  I do NOT put these in papers.  Just spray the mini muffin pans with Pam and the muffins slide right out. 

Just a few more Fall shots.

Just another shot of the red tree with an orton effect applied to it. 

And the last of the mums....all the other ones are faded down to tan.  I guess these were kind of sheltered from cold and frost.

I call these my yellow tears....not sure what the name of this plant is but its still hanging in there and as you can see, its still blooming.  This sets under the front porch roof, so its still living.  My begonia on the porch couldn't survive the cool nights but it hasn't seem to stunt this plant at all.

Just thought I'd add this shot too....since the very first post on this blog was of this shed and it was green, thought I would like to document the change in color.

All for now!

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Fall Fire...

I was so glad to get to see these trees transform into their beautiful Fall colors.  Most of our trees just dried up and dropped them but because I was literally pouring the water to this front yard to keep it green, the trees got to benefit from the moisture too.  They began their transformation one day last week and since we were 'finally' getting some much needed moisture, I decided it was time to get my shot.  Unfortunately, the breeze was just enough that they shot isn't sharp but at least I've captured their beautiful color.  Too bad the flowers underneath are a bit ragged...LOL...can't have it all! 

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Retirement Package!

I received this last week....the absolute, most wonderful, important, exciting package I have or ever will receive in my lifetime. In fact, it was so special, I thought it deserved to be framed and hung on this blog of our lives.  I was so excited, I couldn't wait to get home to open it up and examine it from front to back.  It's taken 39 years to see this day and there were times when I didn't think the day would ever get here.  But....on the other hand.....I can not believe how fast those years have flown by.  I had a lady postmaster tell me about 6 years ago, that the time would go by fast and would be here before I knew it but I was hesitant to believe her...it was easy for her to say...she was retiring the next week, I still had 6 years of work!  But, if I ran into her today, I'd let her know how right she was....the time has flown.  Now....with only 7 weeks left...I'm looking forward to this next chapter in my life.  What will it hold for me? Who knows but I hope to continue learning and living life to the fullest. I'm ready to continue this book of life.

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Subway Art......November

Subway art for November........ Enjoy!

Linked to WhipperBerry Friday Flair Link Party.

Halloween 2011

These are the treats I made for Gavin's class...the coffin was a pattern from Martha Stewart and I cut it out on my Cricut.  Not sure where I got the skull for the tag but it and the elements for the tag were all cut on the Cricut too.  I found the skeleton at Michaels...it was a banner and I just cut it apart.  They fit perfectly in the coffins after I filled them with candy.

And, this is the only Halloween deco I have in the house....maybe next year I'll do more.  Love my subway art!  Found this cute little guy at a fabric store on sale.....just $4.49....too cheap to pass up...lol

Covered Bridges

Brent & I took a Sunday afternoon drive to grab some snaps of Covered Bridges in Ohio.
I wish the fall color had been better but with all the rain and wind we've been having the leaves are almost gone. It hasn't been a very pretty fall this year, but at least we had enough sunshine to get out and snap a few shots.

Happy Jack

Grabbed this quick snap out back yesterday evening when the wind died down a little. It's been so windy here that it's been hard to get any nice fall shots or keep the leaves cleaned up.

I've had this happy jack for many years and I still love it. Such a happy face.

Thank U for sharing

Just letting you see that I got mine done....I LOVE them.  I can't wait to see what you come up with for Nov.  I found my frames at Wally World and they are shadow box style.  So, I was thinking I could add a small item to each frame....like a broomstick, witch, etc....just need to find something.


Thank you VERY much for sharing this great idea with me and the art work.  Bill thinks I'm so creative...LOL...had to break it to him that I was only the assembly person, not the creator...

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I'm not sure I like this new blogger post field....can't figure things out like I did before.  Oh, well...just enjoying our warm nights and my new wide angle lens.  I finally upgraded my kit lens with this new Tamron 17-50 2.8.  Took this last night around 9:30 pm. I can't believe how nice our temps have been for Oct.  We are still sleeping with the windows open and not ever getting cold.  Now, if we could just get some rain!  We have about a 30 % chance this week but I'm not holding my breath for much.

I absolutely love my front porch!  I plan on spending more time here next year with a good book and a cold glass of diet coke. 

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Subway Art........October

I have been seeing a ton of Subway Art on the net and of course I had to try doing one myself. This is my try for October. Will there be a November????? I don't know....LOL......It all depends on how many rainy gloomy days we have between now and then.

Click on above image then right click and save as. Need to resize image to 7.5" x 7.5". That's the size of frame I have mine in. I don't have any idea if this will work or not but hope so. If it doesn't let me know and I'll try another way.

Acorn

Trying to push myself into getting my interest back.

Picked this cute fall acorn candy dish up on a quick trip to the mall the other day.
It's the only thing fall I have out.
Guess I'd better get busy.

Lady In Red

So Quiet!

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Here are some more....LOL....just can't help myself!

I haven't snapped this many shots in a long, long time but I've been reading a photography book and it inspired me to go outside and give the camera a lesson or two...not that it or I learned a dang thing but I did get some shots to post.

This shot is of the wagon that sits in front of my privacy fence and then the hanging basket below this shot is hanging from the top of the fence.  I have 5 baskets with these million bells but only a couple of them are doing this good.  They don't get quite enough sunlight to get them to bloom as well as they should.  But, I love the fiesta color of them. 

and then this is a shot of the wagon at the front step with the red petunias.  I won't be planting red ones next year...they fade too much in the sun....will stick to the red geraniums and bacopia.

Speaking of bacopia....it has done absolutely awesome this year! I've got it planted in the front big planter box and then in my hanging baskets off the porch and in the bicycle. It has bloomed non-stop all summer, only requiring daily watering....it wilts real fast when it gets dry!  I did have three of these baskets hanging off the porch but the wind took one of them down and I didn't put it back up....just tore the plants up too much to savage. 

And then....just had to show you the difference in our flower seasons....just a week or two behind you but it fascinates me when you send a shot of a flower in bloom and I don't have any yet....always have to go outside to check it out...LOL  So...here is a shot of my mums....

Ok...last shot, I promise!  Hope I haven't bored you to death!   LOL....took this while walking this afternoon....have always loved the thistle when it's in bloom....a sticky weed with a lovely colored bloom.  God does plant a beautiful garden.

Just a few shots from today...

....I've never grown this type of begonia but had lost one early in the season and wanted one that could handle sun during the late afternoon and the nursery said this was the best landscape begonia in the breed. I about lost it right off the bat....was fertilizing with Miracle Grow and just sprayed it on the leaves...learned the hard way that you can't do that to a begonia...lol...turned the leaves brown but all I did was pick off the brown ones and a month later, it now looks like this. I plan on getting another one for this pot next year.

This is one of my beautiful fall dahlia's.  I grew these last year but they haven't put on the show that they did then.  They have grown ok...lost a couple but then that's not unusual for me, but they haven't put out the blooms like they did last year.  I'm hoping its just a bit too early and they will come around when it cools down more. Last year I grew yellow with red tips and solid reds.  This year I thought that was what I bought but I ended up with the solid reds but the yellow ones are more orange/yellow mix and not nearly as pretty of a bloom. 

And then there was this hungry fellow....couldn't get him to pose for me...just kept his butt in my face.

And this is just a shot of the vase full of the sunflowers....they looked good this morning but are drooping this afternoon.  They just don't like the water, I guess...

That's all for today....maybe a few more tomorrow.


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The first sign of Fall....

...for me that is.  I think of Fall when these beauties start gracing our roadways.  Everything is turning bright yellow except for the brown grass...LOL...the only green I'm seeing much of if in my front yard and the sprinkles have been running for a week now.  I have grass up about 1/2 an inch but its not very thick yet.

I picked these on the way home from Chillicothe yesterday morning but they don't really like being in a vase of water...guess they prefer the dry soil conditions.

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Post 500

This is Post 500 for me.
 Snapped this outside my backdoor today.  Can't believe my Mumm's are blooming at the right time of year for me.

Shadow Play

Hope you are having a great weekend...we are off to help Jerri Ann and Randy put rafters on a barn....


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